Burger And Fries Showdown: Checkers vs. Number One Deli

It’s that time again, ladies and gents. A neighborhood battle royale between the mom and pop Number One Deli Restaurant (536 3rd Avenue at 13th Street) and the new-to-3rd Avenue Checkers (552 3rd Avenue, between 14th and 15th Street). Whose burger and fries will come out on top?

First, the side by side comparison. As you can see from the picture, the Number One burger (on the left) is significantly larger than the Checkers burger (on the right). The meat is plainly visible, peeking over the edge of the toasted sesame seed bun, with lots of cheddar cheese melted on both the patty and the bun. Fresh tomato, lettuce, pickle and onions are included on the side, so you can decide how much you’d like to place on the sandwich.

The contender from Checkers has enough condiments on it to cover ten burgers, plus 2. If you look closely, though, there is a sliver of burger meat underneath the square slice of unmelted American cheese product.

Now for the taste comparison. The Number One burger ($6.50) was juicy, piping hot and nicely seasoned. We were honestly surprised at how much we ended up liking this burger. Nothing fancy. Just a good diner burger.

It’s difficult to say anything about the flavor of the Checkers burger ($6.29), because all we kept coming away with was a mouthful of sauce. Thanks to all those cool condiments, the bit of meat we were able to score was cold. The bun didn’t look too bad when we first opened the sandwich, but ended up tasting like a week old Krasdale bun.

Both burgers were served with a generous portion of fries, but Checkers totally ran away with this one. We’re not sure if the Number One fries needed a bit more time in the frier or what, but they tasted like the freezer. The Checkers fries were perfectly cooked and seasoned with a combination of spices that will probably have us traveling down to Third Avenue more often than we’d care to admit.

Ultimately, we ended up with a split decision on this one folks. If you’re in the market for a burger on Third Avenue, definitely hit up Number One Deli Restaurant, but if you’d like to toss a few fries in the mix, Checkers is the place to be.